The Chamberson Hotel

Dunedin 2018

The Chamberson is a heritage listed industrial building, sitting boldly on the corner of Stuart & Cumberland. The interior by contrast is warm, tactile, intimate and human with suggestions of a previous life in the beams, plaster and brickwork, and original stone floors.

Being an old warehouse, the rooms are, well, roomy. Apartment-style spaces, with high ceilings, and tall windows to match - each with its own story to tell, and with its own entirely different, but iconic view of Dunedin.

The Loft is the dining space on the rooftop - a light and airy room where much of the furniture is either designed by us or sourced from local makers or antique dealers. William Morris wallpaper features alongside paintings from Nom*D.

Photography by Simon Devitt

Hawker & Roll

Sylvia Park + Commercial Bay Auckland

Ballarat St Queenstown

2017 -

Little sister to the well established Madam Woo, Hawker & Roll sits within a relatively new type of restaurant experience where service is fast, relaxed and fun. The brief called for a space which acknowledged Malaysian street food restaurants and their easeful ability to consistently serve the gutsy dishes Malaysia is famous for to many people in a day.

Owners Fleur Caulton and Josh Emett are passionate storytellers; they want to disseminate their love of Malaysian food and culture through these restaurants.

In the same way flavours have been transcribed from Malaysia to suit a New Zealand palette, so too has the interior. Elements have been hand picked from those found in heritage areas like Georgetown, Penang and re-organised to invoke the same feel without being overly literal. For example, ceiling are high and are filled with whirring fans, walls are tiled up to dado height with specialist plaster finishes above and are cool to touch - an antidote to the heat of the spice. Hand made shuttered walls and painted tiles line the exterior of the bar which protrudes from the shopfront acting as a takeaway collection point. Bamboo blinds imported from Penang have spray painted Hawker & Roll logos and define the edge of the outside dining space. Colours are muted - as if they have been on the walls for years. Brightly coloured furniture cuts through the haze of these colours.

Typically the restaurants transition from very public outdoor dining areas, to a busy, communal central dining space, to a more intimate, domestic scale dining space at the back.

We have driven the delivery of the first Auckland and Queenstown restaurant sites, and have simply helped curate the owners production of the others.

Mihi Mihi Retreat

Arrowtown 2017

Mihi Mihi Retreat was conceived by gallerist Nadene Milne as the home for an artist in residence programme. It is nestled in a hilltop neighbourhood in Arrowtown, intentionally turning away from big views and floods of light. Instead it lets select cuts of the surrounding hills quietly leak in and offers very much an interior, inward looking experience.

Much of the architecture and interior concept started with the client - she did the initial sketches for the building for example, which was to sit in conversation with her own house on the same site.

This project was very much a collaboration - we were willing conduits for the creativity of Nadene Milne.

The Fabric of Us - Luma

Queenstown 2017

The Fabric of Us was a collaboration between NWS and Auckland based post production company Creature. Part of Luma 2017 in Queenstown’s Botanical Gardens, we occupied the heritage listed 1920’s potting shed/glasshouse with the intention of transforming it momentarily from a building to object. An object with the preciousness of an heirloom. We filled it with light to give the appearance of a solid object. We projected pounamu, cracking timber shingles, calligraphic brushstrokes and lines from a poem which uses the same words to speak of corporeal beauty and the beauty of the land. Weather washes away both the words and the material facade at rhythmic intervals making this installation a 4 minute looping heart warming delight.

Hillend Station

Wanaka 2016

A beautiful, soulful cabin with as much mana as a bedded in chapel, on the farm’s hilltop. Conceived of as a holiday home for friends and family of its owners, we consulted on the interior finishes, furniture, lighting and soft furnishings.

Photography David Straight

Hallenstein St

Queenstown 2017

These apartments are owned by a vibrant family who fervently love the mountains and the culture of Queenstown. The brief was to create a light and colour filled modern chalet which the extended family could retreat to and from without fuss. We consulted on various aspects of the interior including sourcing and/or designing bespoke light fittings, joinery and furniture, finishes and colour.

Photography by Simon Devitt

Madam Woo

Queenstown, Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton, Christchurch 2015 -

Madam Woo is a series of restaurants around New Zealand taking inspiration from traditional Malaysian food. Flavours are big, fresh and innovative and the pace is fast and fun.

Owners Fleur Caulton and Josh Emett are vigorous story tellers and experience designers - the want to pass their love for the food and culture of Malaysia to everyone who walks into one of their restaurants. The interiors are inspired by different aspects of South East Asian culture depending on their location and the building; night markets in Takapuna, a moody underground parlour in Dunedin and a hill station tea house near the river in Hamilton.

A project in collaboration with Michelle Freeman.

Sandringham Bungalow

Auckland 2013

This kitchen and bathroom is a sensitive refit for a central Auckland 1940’s bungalow. Materials used were modern versions of the original – mosaic ceramic tiles, meranti ply, stainless and formica.

The arrangement of the space and the forms were also gleamed from the more successful earlier built elements but adapted to suit the client’s lifestyle.

The Bund

Dunedin 2014

The Bund is a Tapas Bar and restaurant; it shares an Art Deco building with The Regent Theatre and its interior draws both on the building’s features and Dunedin's sister city relationship with Shanghai.

It reinvents old Dunedin in a reductive manner with a low-key glamour and a hint of the industrial to roughen the edges. The Bund transforms easily from casual daytime cafe to an elegant, relaxed place to be at night.

A project in collaboration with Michelle Freeman.

Photography by Holly Wallace

Aro Ha

Glenorchy 2013

Aro Ha’s interior encourages a focus on the essential elements of living – eating, sleeping, bathing, breathing. The palate is minimal and natural, textural and tactile supporting these fundamental activities without being distracting. The finishes draw on the colours of the sub region’s flora and fauna - and the spaces are beautiful, subtle, calm and quiet.

The materials and products are, as much as possible, from sustainable sources, and made by New Zealand artists and designers. The interior acknowledges the architecture and engages in a coherent dialogue with it.

A project in collaboration with Michelle Freeman.

Rata

Queenstown 2012

Rata’s interior was designed to reflect the texture and colour of New Zealand while maintaining an elegant and ceremonious dining experience. The space therefore is a considered blend of raw materials as seen throughout the rural landscape (concrete, steel and rough sawn timber) and European furniture and lighting.

It offers a different experience every visit, either at the bar, in the private dining room with its huge backlit bush photo, at the long communal table or tucked away on one of the banquette seats. The visible kitchen allows guests to be privy to chef Josh Emett’s craft.

A project in collaboration with Michelle Freeman.

Photography by Daz Caulton

The Corners Cellar Door

Blenheim 2011

Built in the 1940s, this homestead was reconfigured internally to suit a cellar door, wine lounge, commercial kitchen and dining room. Given its rural location, the intention was to provide a space that was homely and comfortable yet still a treat to come to.

Key original elements of the house were kept – rimu wall paneling and floors, and concrete in the newer parts was exposed and ground back to the aggregate. A sweeping, curved timber tasting bar was inserted, along with bentwood chairs, banquette seats, american ash furniture and joinery, handmade rugs and vintage lounge chairs.

A project in collaboration with Michelle Freeman.

The Winehouse & Kitchen

Queenstown

The Wine House and Kitchen was a restoration project on a 1920s farmhouse villa. The house was moved from its original site and converted to a commercial wine tasting room, conference facility and restaurant. The rooms were all treated slightly differently giving each a unique feel, however care was taken to maintain a continuity and coherence throughout the building.

We worked closely with local conservation architects and the end product is a lively and elegant space with restrained use of decoration to reference the buildings history. The interior, while gutsy in its own right, gives the purveying of beautiful wine and food the lead.